File Sharing
File-sharing, also known as "peer-to-peer" technology, allows users to search for and copy files from other users' computers. The most common use of this technology is to swap digital music files, or MP3s.
You may have heard your children talk about “file-sharing”, “downloading” or “P2P” (peer-to-peer). It’s a hot topic with young people for one simple reason: music.
With the current explosion in the availability of Digital Content (such as MP3 music files, films, software and videos), it is all too easy for your child to download and install unsuitable material, or material that infringes copyright.
‘File-sharing’ programs such as Kazaa, LimeWire, BitTorrent, Bearshare, iMesh, BadBlue, Filetopia, Grokster, Smirk and Slyck are all popular P2P tools with millions of users around the world. Computer users who share the same type of P2P application can connect and directly access files from one another's hard drives. However, children who download or share music using any of these programs may unwittingly be infringing the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The scale of this problem is enormous. In Canada, sixty-five per cent of students, in Grades 4 to 11, download and listen to music every school day.
(Source: Young Canadians in a Wired World, Media Awareness Network, 2005)
Aside from copyright issues P2P downloading also:
- allows access to pornographic images and videos. Many filters designed to block pornography on the internet are generally ineffective at stopping this nature of file being reached through file-sharing programs. An extremely large amount of pornographic material masquerades as suitable content - with files purposefully mis-named as popular subject matter.
- allows access to music that would carry a ‘Parent Advisory’ label in a store. In this way, songs with explicit lyrics are freely available to anyone - regardless of age.
- allows access to instant messaging and chat services which are entirely unsupervised
- allows your computer to act as a ‘server’. This poses a whole range of security threats. Others may be able to view the contents of your hard drive (which stores your personal and banking details) and could leave you vulnerable to hackers. P2P software differs in the amount of security provided.
